Face to face
We may be experiencing fatigue after more than a year of Zoom sessions but we still need to brush up those online skills
We need to talk about…The purpose of drug treatment
ADDER is yet another treatment service acronym. Whatever it stands for it will probably end up in the government policy wastebasket. Says Nick Goldstein.
Hard Miles
Organisations and peers have risen admirably to the challenge of continuing the hep C elimination fight during the COVID crisis, heard delegates at LJWG’s...
Essential purchases
Buying alcohol for people with severe dependence during lockdown in Bristol has been a lifesaver, says Rachel Ayres.
On 26 March 2020 our city streets...
Loaded Language
Stigmatising language doesn’t have to be obvious to do harm, says Phoenix Future's Liam Ward.
Gently does it
Simply cutting off the supply of benzodiazepines to people who’ve been prescribed them for years is far from appropriate.
In it together
Behavioural couples therapy for alcohol dependence can both strengthen relationships and reduce problematic drinking
The elephant in the room
The links between childhood trauma and problematic adult substance use – though huge – are still not being properly addressed. If we’re finally going...
A Vital Role
The latest strain of COVID-19 has raised pressures facing substance misuse services to an all-time high. Martin Blakebrough, CEO at Kaleidoscope, examines the critical...
Chelita De La Haye – i am a…
Chelita De La Haye tells us about her role as a nurse prescriber at Delphi Medical Consultants Ltd, a community drug service in Blackpool, Lancashire.
Why Doesn’t She Just Leave?
Women stay in violent and abusive relationships for all kinds of reasons, says Janie Pamment – and childhood trauma is a significant one.
Bottling it all up
Mark Reid reviews Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain, the story of a boy and his alcoholic mother.
Face facts
Is online coaching really as good as face-to-face service? Let’s find out, says Angela Calcan.
All or Nothing
Your cholesterol is high. The doctor says, ‘No butter, no cheese, no cholesterol-raising foods – full stop.’ You complain, ‘Can’t I just cut down...
Dark Secrets
As an ‘old timer’ in the field, I remember the seismic shift that followed the emergence of ‘legal highs’. Policy, however, stayed frozen in...
Home and Dry
Much has been written in the press about how COVID and the lockdown have seen this year’s Dry January ‘cancelled’ for many people. But...
The Feeling’s Mutual
The impact of COVID-19 has shown that mutual aid groups like AA may be even more beneficial than we realised.
Stewart Bell – I Am A…
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, new admissions into rehab have had to isolate. Stewart Bell tells us about his role as an...
Review of the year 2020
Going viral
2020 will forever be remembered as the year COVID-19 transformed our lives. But one note of optimism was the way services immediately rose...
Support for veterans
The home front
Despite high levels of problematic substance use among ex-services personnel, the ingrained forces mentality can mean a reluctance to seek help –...
A fragile picture
Commissioning is struggling under relentless rounds of cuts. DDN hears about the need to collaborate to keep clients moving forward.
‘There are many of us...
Brook Drive – meet the team
As part of our 'I am a…' series two of the team from Brook Drive, the only third sector detox service in London, tell...
Enough Excuses
Simply blaming an ageing cohort or pre-devolution economic policies for Scotland’s shameful levels of drug-related deaths won’t cut it anymore, say Barry Sheridan and...
On the Margins
Peter Keeling hears from April Wareham of Working with Everyone about how marginalised communities have been coping during lockdown.
Working with Everyone is a group...
The Right Connections
Starting in May, a group of ten champions of recovery from different corners of the recovery ecosystem began to meet on a weekly basis to share their thoughts and support each other.
Getting Engaged
With drug-related deaths once again hitting record levels, it’s never been more urgent to make sure we’re properly engaging with so-called ‘chaotic clients’.
Just a child
The exploitation involved in ‘county lines’ is an urgent call for action, as DDN reports.
The brutal killing of a 16-year-old boy shook his community...
Positive signals
Giving families a clear and consistent route to help makes all the difference, as DDN reports.
‘When you work with families in an uncoordinated way...
We need to talk about medical marijuana
While it may be nominally legal, medical marijuana needs to be far more easily available and its use encouraged by treatment services.
Supervised humiliation?
In the real world, methadone provision too often means diversion, using on top – and humiliating supervised consumption.
Leanne Smullen-Bethell – I am a…
Leanne Smullen-Bethell is head of house at Phoenix’s National Specialist Family Service, where people can seek treatment for their substance use problems while staying...
Opening the Doors
The efforts to get homeless people into emergency accommodation must not be wasted, as DDN reports.
Homelessness has been long been regarded as complex, difficult,...
Blocking the path
What proportion of England’s problem drinkers are actually in treatment? And are increasing rates of unmet need the result of austerity-driven funding cuts? Mike...
We need to talk about pleasure
Our refusal to acknowledge that drugs can be a happy experience is hampering our attempts at treatment, says Nick Goldstein.
In tune with nature
From the heart of the Cornish countryside Bosence Farm Community has been developing ecotherapy, as Tom Packer explains.
The Mother of Invention
It’s now almost six months since lockdown revolutionised the way services operate. But could this have actually led to an increase in service user...
Doorstep Challenge
Strong partnerships could overturn nimbyism and make supervised injecting facilities a reality, DDN reports.
Read the full article in DDN Magazine
A supervised injecting facility (SIF,...
A Sure Start
One of the key tasks of the national recovery champion role is to bring people together within the addictions field to tackle a common...
Long Hot Summer
Summer weather and lack of other entertainment mean that young people are once again turning to outdoor partying on a large scale. Drug services...
The Right Questions
Now in its 30th year, the Unlinked Anonymous Monitoring Survey is a vital tool for harm reduction, says Emily Phipps.
This year the Unlinked Anonymous...
Aiming High
Even in the most difficult circumstances recovery is always possible, says Jody Leach.
Doubling Down
With World Hepatitis Day on 28 July, now is the time to redouble our efforts towards hepatitis C elimination, says Rachel Halford.
World Hepatitis Day...
The Heat is On – Doctor Wars (part two)
In the second part of ‘Doctor Wars’, Bill Nelles describes the tumultuous days of the 1980s.
Read part one here.
By 1983, the cold war among...
Safeguarding Sanctuary
The lockdown has forced services providing domestic abuse support to become even more resourceful and innovative, says Miranda Hawtrey.
Read the full article in DDN...
Bill Nelles – Doctor Wars (part one)
In the first part of his two part series 'Doctor Wars' Bill Nelles describes how the running battles between substance misuse clinicians in the...
The Benzo Trap
Improving our understanding of benzodiazepines would save many lives, says Kevin Flemen.
Non-medical use of benzodiazepines creates big challenges for treatment services. There need to...
Commissioning Quality
The new national substance misuse commissioner forum will play a vital role in responding to future challenges, say Chris Lee and Prof Jim McManus.
Even...
Gender imbalance
The lockdown may be having a disproportionate effect on female service users, warns Gordon Hay.
The coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown impacts on all...
In the Picture
The parliamentary group discussion moved to Zoom for its first meeting since the crisis hit services.
Staying Alert
The sector has risen admirably to the challenges of COVID-19. But it needs to remain vigilant when it comes to what happens next
Zooming in
Technology is helping to make sure that recovery workers and clients stay connected.
Grow a little kindness
SIG Penrose Roots is a garden-based community recovery project that provides a therapeutic growing space for service users, members, volunteers and the wider community.
A new normal
Within days of lockdown being announced, Lancashire’s recovery communities had transformed their way of life on a grand scale, as Chris Lee explains.
We are...
Staying on track
What does COVID-19 mean for hepatitis C elimination plans in London? Dee Cunniffe gives an update.
Two months ago, on 2 March, senior leaders from...
Remembering Simon
Tributes have been paid to Simon Morgan; Change Grow Live recovery worker, DDN volunteer, and a much-loved member of the Stratford-upon-Avon music scene, who...
Home from home
Keeping the home ties strong is one important way that Phoenix Futures keeps their residents’ motivation high, says Liam Ward
Aligned with government guidance –...
Shared perspectives
Having had to postpone his trip to the DDN conference, Bill Nelles reflects on the differences in drug policy between the UK and his...
Uncharted territory
The coronavirus outbreak has transformed almost every aspect of our society at dizzying speed. DDN looks at the impact so far on treatment services...